JP4090834B2 - Article search system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention also relates to an article retrieval system for locating lost or the like articles in everyday life.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In everyday life, when the location of an article is lost, people follow their memories and try to remember where they are. However, if the event you are trying to remember is a distant past event or an unconscious action, the memory may be ambiguous and the location of the object may not be known.
[0003]
Furthermore, when searching by relying on memory, methods such as re-creating the behavior at that time or searching for all possible places are taken, but there is no guarantee that it will waste a lot of time and be found reliably.
[0004]
Thus, a tag system is provided as a technique for searching for articles that are no longer known. In this tag system, a tag equipped with an external signal receiving device and a light emitting element and a sound generating element that operates in response to an external signal is attached to an article, and a signal is transmitted from the outside to the tag, thereby being located by light or sound. (For example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-207657 [0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of a format that informs by sound, there is a problem that it is difficult to notify at an appropriate volume because the sound is too small to be heard by humans and is too loud. Moreover, although the rough location can be confirmed by sound alone, there is a problem that the surrounding area where the sound is generated must be visually searched.
[0007]
On the other hand, it is a necessary minimum condition that the light-emitting element is visible for light notification, and there is a problem that it cannot be found when the tag faces downward or has been stored.
[0008]
The present invention was devised to solve such problems, and its object is not to rely on sound or light, but an article search system and article search method that can accurately determine the location of an article and notify the user. Another object is to provide an article search program and a recording medium on which the article search program is recorded.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The article search system according to the present invention includes a data tag attached to a search object and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, and one or a plurality of observation devices that communicate with the data tag by infrared rays with directivity. And a terminal device that inputs a search object and displays a search result, and a search device that is connected to the observation device and the terminal device and searches for the search object input from the terminal device in the search system, the observation device, the height to restrict the horizontal width direction regulating slit for restricting the communication range of a region of interest of the communication, the communication range of a region to be a communication target vertical and a slit for direction restricting, together with the and the width direction regulating slit horizontally provided to be sequentially changing the communication direction in the horizontal direction by driving the height-direction restricting Yosu Tsu preparative provided a communication direction vertical sequentially changeably by driving in a vertical direction, the retrieval apparatus, successful communication with the data tag attached to the search object that is input from the terminal device The position and communication direction data of one or a plurality of observation devices are received, the horizontal and vertical positions of the search object are specified from the received position and communication direction data of the observation device, and the position information Is output to the terminal device.
[0010]
According to the present invention having such a feature, the search device requests each observer to communicate with the data tag attached to the search object based on the instruction of the search object from the terminal device. In response to this request, when a communication result with the data tag attached to the search target is received from each observation device, based on the received communication result, at least two or more observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag. The position of the search object is obtained by calculation based on the position and direction. Then, the obtained position information of the search object is transmitted to the terminal device. In the terminal device, the received position information is displayed, for example, superimposed on the floor plan of the room. As described above, in the article search system of the present invention, the location (position information) of the article that is no longer located is displayed together with the room plan as the search target, so that the user can easily find the lost article. Can do.
[0011]
In this case, the observation device communicates with the data tag by infrared rays, and the width direction restricting means and the height direction restricting means are configured by slits . This ensures that the installation has been observed machine room or the like, it can be searched throughout the room. As the terminal device, it is possible to use a portable information device such as a mobile phone or a PDA that has been rapidly spread recently.
[0012]
Moreover, the article search method of the present invention can be realized as a program for executing this method.
[0014]
The article search program can be provided as a computer-readable recording medium that records the article search program.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the article search system of the present embodiment.
[0017]
The article search system according to the present embodiment has, as a basic configuration, a personal computer used by a user, a mobile phone, a terminal device 1 such as a PDA, a server 2, two or more observation devices 3, 3,..., And a data tag 4. It is comprised by.
[0018]
The terminal device 1 includes a LAN interface (hereinafter abbreviated as “LAN_IF”) 11, a memory 12, a CPU 13, and a monitor 14, and is used for receiving input from the user and presenting information to the user.
[0019]
The server 2 includes a LAN_IF 21, a memory 22, and a CPU 23, and communicates with the terminal device 1 and the observation device 3 to record and process data.
[0020]
The observation device 3 includes a LAN_IF 31, a memory 32 storing its own ID information, a CPU 33, an infrared transmission unit 34, and an infrared reception unit 35, and performs communication between the server 2 and the data tag 4. .
[0021]
The data tag 4 includes a memory 42 in which its own ID information is stored, a CPU 43, an infrared transmitter 44, and an infrared receiver 45.
[0022]
FIG. 3 shows an example of an arrangement state of the article search system having the above configuration.
[0023]
One or a plurality of observation machines 3 are installed in one room (in this example, one at each of three corners of the room, three in total). The terminal device 1 is installed in a place such as a living room where the user can easily see and input. The server 2 may be installed anywhere such as under the floor or ceiling. For example, the data tag 4 is attached to a wallet, a medicine bag, a spectacle case, a remote control transmitter, etc. that are easy to forget. Further, the user inputs the position of the installed observation device 3 through the terminal device 1. As for the attachment angle of the observation device 3, the observation devices 3, 3... Communicate with each other, and obtain the attachment angle based on the communication direction and the input layout.
[0024]
However, in this embodiment, the retrieval article height information is not acquired. That is, in the observation device 3, the communication direction in the width direction (horizontal direction) is regulated by a slit ( not shown ) . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the infrared rays whose width direction is regulated are all irradiated for communication in the height direction.
[0025]
FIG. 2 shows a data configuration example of the memory 22 provided in the server 2. The memory 22 includes an article list 51 indicating the relationship between the article list set in advance by the terminal device 1 and the ID of the data tag attached thereto, and the position of each observation device 3 set in advance by the terminal device 1. A list storage area 221 for storing the observation device information list 52 showing the correspondence relationship with the direction facing, a tag ID storage area 222 for storing the ID of the searched data tag 4 as the search tag ID 53, and the observation device 3 A communication result storage area 223 for storing a communication result 54 with the data tag 4 is provided.
[0026]
Next, in the article search system having the above-described configuration, a case where the location of the “glasses case” to which the data tag 4 is attached is taken as an example, and the operation system of the observation device shown in FIG. The operation of will be described.
[0027]
Here, the floor plan of the user is as shown in FIG. That is, except for sanitary, in each room (Japanese-style room and living room), three observation devices 3 are respectively arranged at the corners of each room. Further, (x, y) shown in FIG. 5 represents the position of each observation device 3. Further, the orientation of the observation device 3 is the direction in which the observation device 3 faces when the x-axis in FIG. 5 is 0 ° and the y-axis is 90 °.
[0028]
When the user makes an article search request at the terminal device 1, the terminal device 1 acquires the article list 51 stored in the memory 22 of the server 2 and displays it on the monitor 14.
[0029]
When the user designates “glasses case” 51 a from the article list 51 displayed on the screen, the terminal device 1 transmits a data tag ID “103” corresponding to the designated “glasses case” to the server 2. The server 2 stores the received ID “103” as the search data tag ID 53 and makes a communication request with the data tag 4 to all the observation devices 3, 3. Note that the terminal device 1 may transmit the text of the article name to the server 2 instead of transmitting the data tag ID “103” corresponding to “glasses case”. In this case, the server 2 extracts the data tag ID corresponding to the article from the article list 51 of the memory 22 and stores the extracted ID “103” as the search data tag ID 53. Request communication with data tag 3
[0030]
All the observation devices 3, 3... Start communication with the data tag 4 when receiving a communication request with the data tag 4 from the server 2 (when determined Yes in step S1) (step S2).
[0031]
That is, when the observation device 3 does not receive the data tag ID returned from the data tag 4 (when determined No in step S3), the observation device 3 drives the slit (not shown) in the horizontal direction to communicate the communication direction (communication). The angle is sequentially changed (step S4). In this way, even if the communication direction is continuously changed and communication is performed in all directions in which the observation device 3 can communicate, if the data tag ID is not received by the reply from the data tag 4 (No is determined in step S5). In the case), the communication is terminated (step S7).
[0032]
On the other hand, when the observation device 3 receives the data tag ID as a reply from the data tag 4 (when determined Yes in step S3), the observation device 3 transmits its own observation device ID and its scan direction to the server 2. (Step S6) and the communication is terminated (step S7).
[0033]
Here, how the observation device 3 communicates with the data tag 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0034]
Each observation device 3 (3A, 3B, 3C) that has received the data tag search request from the server 2 performs data scan while scanning in the communication direction (swinging in the horizontal direction) as shown in FIG. The direction in which there is a reply from tag 4 is obtained. As a result, when the “glasses case” to which the data tag 4 with the ID “103” is attached is in the room, finally, as shown in FIG. 6B, from each of the observation devices 3A, 3B, 3C. Directions (θa, θb, θc) are obtained.
[0035]
As a result of each of the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C attempting to communicate in all communication directions, the memory 22 of the server 2 has a relative angle between the observation device ID and the data tag 4 as shown in FIG. Is obtained as the tag communication result 54. From these results, the observation devices 3A, 3B, and 3C related to the search data tag ID are extracted, and the data tag 4 is extracted from the position of each observation device 3A, 3B, and 3C and the direction that each observation device 3A, 3B, and 3C faces. The location of the “glasses case” attached can be specified.
[0036]
For example, the values in FIG. 6B are Ax = 0, Ay = 200, θa = 38.9 °, αa = 90 ° (1)
Bx = 400, By = 0, θb = 46.3 °, αb = 180 ° (2)
Cx = 400, Cy = 800, θc = 30.2 °, αc = −90 ° (3)
In the case of (2), (x, y) = (160, 451) and (2), (3) to (x, y) = (190, 439) Coordinates are obtained. Ideally, it is desirable to output only one point, but when different values are obtained as described above due to errors in slit width, angle, etc., the coordinates of the center are set as the position of the search data tag 4.
[0037]
The server 2 transmits the position information (location) of the search data tag 4 obtained in this way to the terminal device 1. The terminal device 1 displays this position information on the screen of the monitor 14. Thereby, the user can specify the location of the “glasses case”. In this case, the screen display method may be performed graphically together with the floor plan of the room, or by setting a place such as a desk or a TV in advance, “△△ on the desk in the room” or the like. It may be displayed in letters.
[0038]
In addition, as a method of obtaining the direction of the search data tag 4 from each observation device 3, (a) simply shifting the narrow-angle communication little by little (the method of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 6), ( b) A method such as a method in which communication is attempted at a wide angle, an approximate direction is checked, and the angle is obtained by increasing the resolution at a narrow angle again.
[0039]
Further, in the present embodiment, the height direction of the search article is omitted, and the plane position is obtained, but a Z-axis direction slit that scans the Z direction (height direction) is attached to the slit of the observation device 3. Thus, a three-dimensional position including information in the height direction can be obtained.
[0040]
The article search system described above is realized by a program for causing a process of searching for a search object using a data tag and an observation device.
[0041]
The program that is stored in the readable recording medium, for example a computer.
[0042]
In the present invention, as the recording medium, a memory necessary for processing performed by the server 2 shown in FIG. 1, for example, a ROM itself may be a program medium. A program reading device may be provided as a non-external storage device, and the program medium may be read by inserting a recording medium therein. In any case, the stored program may be configured to be accessed and executed by the microcomputer, or in any case, the program is read and the read program is a program (not shown) of the microcomputer. It may be a method in which the program is executed after being loaded into the storage area. It is assumed that this loading program is stored in the main device in advance.
[0043]
Here, the program medium is a recording medium configured to be separable from the main body, such as a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as FD (flexible disk) or HD (hard disk), or a CD-ROM / It carries fixed programs, including optical disks such as MO / MD / DVD, card systems such as IC cards (including memory cards) / optical cards, and semiconductor memories such as mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM, etc. It may be a medium.
[0044]
In the present invention, when the system configuration is connectable to a communication network including the Internet, the medium may be a medium that carries the program in a fluid manner so as to download the program from the communication network. When the program is downloaded from the communication network in this way, the download program may be stored in the apparatus main body in advance or may be installed from another recording medium. The content stored in the recording medium is not limited to a program, and may be data.
[0045]
Furthermore, in the present invention, the program itself may be the process itself executed by the server 2 shown in FIG. 1, or may be captured by accessing a communication network including the Internet, or may be captured. It may be there or it may be sent out here. Furthermore, it may be generated as a result of processing in the article search system, that is, generated based on the fetched program. Alternatively, it may be a result of processing in the article search system when sent from here, that is, a generated result. In addition, these things are not limited to a program, Data may be sufficient.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the location of the search article can be accurately obtained from the relative angle between the observation device and the data tag attached to the search article and displayed and output, it is possible to easily find the article that is no longer known.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an article search system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a memory provided in the server.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an arrangement state of a terminal device, a server, and an observation device that constitute the article search system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the communication direction in the width direction of infrared rays emitted from the observation device is restricted.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a floor plan of a user and an arrangement state of observation devices.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a process in which the observation device obtains the direction of the data tag.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the observation device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Server 3 Observation machine 4 Data tag 11, 21, 31, 41 LAN interface (LAN_IF)
12, 22, 32, 42 Memory 13, 23, 33, 43 CPU
14 Monitor 34, 44 Infrared transmitter 35, 45 Infrared receiver

Claims (2)

A data tag attached to the search target and capable of wirelessly communicating information with the outside, one or more observation devices that communicate with the data tag by infrared rays , and input the search target In an article search system comprising: a terminal device that displays a search result; and a search device that is connected to the observation device and the terminal device and searches for a search object input from the terminal device.
The observation unit comprises: a width direction regulating slit for restricting the horizontal communication range is a region to be a communication target, the height direction restricting slit that restricts the communication range in the vertical direction is a region to be a communication target The horizontal direction communication direction can be changed sequentially by driving the width direction restriction slit in the horizontal direction, and the height direction restriction slit is driven in the vertical direction. It is provided so that the vertical communication direction can be changed sequentially,
The search device receives the position and communication direction data of one or a plurality of observation devices that have successfully communicated with the data tag attached to the search object input from the terminal device, and the position of the received observation device And an article search system characterized in that the position of the search object in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is specified from communication direction data, and the position information is output to the terminal device. The article search system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is a portable information device .

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